Mafia: The Definitive Edition has released alongside the complete trilogy and both titles are enjoying a spot in the top ten upon its release. The definitive edition is a from the ground up remake of the original released in 2002 using the same graphics engine as the series most recent title Mafia III.
The game’s fantastic story is intact and the gameplay which does feature some refinements will feel familiar to fans of the series and the original game. With package as massive as this remastered trilogy available to fans of the crime saga, the games should keep gamers busy for a long time to come. Fortunately, there are other great games that will appeal to fans of the Mafia trilogy whether gamers like playing on the right or the wrong side of the law, and somewhere in between.
10 Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes From Liberty City
Released in 2009 as a compilation of two expansion packs for Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City features the Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. For many gamers, these two expansions were a lot more fun than the original game featuring more focused storylines and a better checkpoint system.
The Lost and the Damned’s story centers let players live out their best Sonsof Anarchy around a motorcycle club known as The Lost MC, and features Gang Wars side missions which help the player unlock more safehouses and territories. The Ballard of Gay Tony received even more praise for its story and gameplay elements as it centers on helping the titular Tony out of a bind with several of Liberty City’s crime families.
9 Omerta: City Of Gangsters
Released in 2013 for the Xbox 360 and the PC, Omerta: City of Gangsters is a strategy game set in 1920s Atlantic City. It’s a strategy game in a similar vein to the XCOM series and capitalized on the popularity of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire starring Steve Buscemi.
Players take on the role of an Italian immigrant as he rises up the ranks of the criminal underworld and works take over territories in this game set during the prohibition era.
8 The Getaway
Released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, The Getaway is an open world action-adventure game set in modern-day London. It was released at the peak of Guy Ritchie’s British gangster movie popularity by taking inspiration from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
At the time of its release, it had state of the art visuals and motion capture and featured recognizable locations and landmarks from London. While the story and the dialogue don’t quite live up the films it takes inspiration from The Getaway is still a thrilling crime game from start to finish.
7 Scarface: The World Is Yours
Scarface: The World is Yours is an open-world action game based after the events of the film Scarface starring Al Pacino. Instead of dying as he did at the end of the film, Pacino’s character Tony Montana survives and vows to take revenge on those that tried to kill him.
Although Pacino’s likeness was used in the game he was voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo. The voice actor was personally selected by Pacino himself and does an incredible job of sounding like the actor’s iconic character. In the role of Montana, the player is working toward building a criminal empire in Miami by taking over territories and conquering gangs.
6 The Godfather
Released in 2006, The Godfather videogame was another gangster movie tie-in and like Scarface: The World is Yours before it was a lot better than it had any right to be. The use of a non-canonical character meant the game’s story could follow its own path while running concurrently with the events of the film.
Just like Mafia: The Definitive Edition, The Godfather is set during the 1930s and features a surprisingly good mobster storyline. The game lets players focus on extorting businesses, and gaining control of various territories from rival crime families.
5 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
First released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is an open-world action game set in 1980s Miami. The game takes inspiration from the film Scarface and the popular cop drama Miami Vice.
In addition, the game features voice work from Ray Liotta, the star of Goodfellas - arguably one of the best gangster films ever created - as the lead protagonist Tommy Vercetti. As Vercetti, players take on the role of a mob hitman rising through the ranks in order to establish his own criminal empire.
4 Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Released in 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate is the ninth installment in the series and was set in the backdrop of a Victorian-era London. Syndicate is highly regarded as one of the best titles in the series.
Players take control of two characters Jacob and Evie Frye as they work to take over the criminal underworld and fight back against the Templar controlled gangs of London. Players gain control by taking part in gang wars and assassination missions to reclaim the seven boroughs of London.
3 L.A Noire
First released in 2011, L.A Noire is a neo-noir detective game with an open world Los Angeles for players to explore. Its explorable world is functions similarly to the maps in the Mafia series. Despite being a lovingly recreated 1940s LA, the game could have easily worked without an open city to explore.
Instead of a gangster, however, players take on the role of a clean-cut World War II veteran-turned detective Cole Phelps. Phelps works to uncover the identity of a serial killer as well as expose corruption in the police force.
2 Sleeping Dogs
First released in 2012, Sleeping Dogs is an open-world action-adventure game set in the streets of Hong Kong. Players take on the role of Wei Shen an undercover cop infiltrating the Triads with many of its members being his childhood friends.
Wei’s morality is pulled in two directions as his loyalty to his job, his friends, and a quest for revenge are pulling him in different directions. The dynamic of Wei getting too deep undercover as he tears up the streets of Hong Kong is a compelling one and is backed up by a great voice cast and a good script.
1 The Yakuza Series
The Yakuza series currently consists of 7 games that focus on its lead protagonist Kiryu Kazama. The next installment in the series has a brand new lead taking the series in a new direction. However, the Kiryu saga is a series that fans of open-world crime drama should absolutely not miss.
The games mostly take place in the red light district of Tokyo and center around a former enforcer and member of the Dojima Clan Kiryu. Despite his attempts at leading a normal life and even opening an orphanage, Kiryu is dragged back into the criminal underworld in order to protect the ones he loves.
NEXT: 10 Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Yakuza Remastered
